Thigh by Kristin Garth

Thigh*

that what men see, above a knee, will be invitation, impossibly denied.

Their closure, your responsibility,

neglected means you are unprotected,

an opening to be inspected, slut

to shut out — having been inside. Suspect

a miniskirt rebellion when you cut

with razorblade a region much too high

and try to hide it, Bandaid within half

an hour spied, eyes that make you want to die,

with truths you knew at five, your epitaph —

this problem never was your breasts or thighs.

The problem was a father’s heartless eyes.

*Author’s note:

Kristin Garth is a womanchild sonneteer who was taught by abusers that it was a woman’s responsibility to not be a temptation. She rejects this paradigm and stripped for a living for five years and posts pictures of her sinful thighs and legs on the Internet. It’s not her responsibility to not provoke. It is the responsibility of the viewer to handle themselves in an ethical manner.

Author Bio

Kristin Garth is a Pushcart, Best of the Net & Rhysling nominated sonnet stalker. Her poetry has stalked magazines like Glass, Yes, Five:2: One, Former Cactus, Occulum & many more. She has six chapbooks including Shakespeare for Sociopaths (Hedgehog Poetry Press), Pink Plastic House (Maverick Duck Press), Puritan U (Rhythm & Bones Press March 2019) and The Legend of the Were Mer (Thirty West Publishing House March 2019). Her full length, Candy Cigarette Womanchild Noir is forthcoming April 2019 (The Hedgehog Poetry Press), and she has a fantasy collaborative full length A Victorian Dollhousing Ceremony forthcoming in June (Rhythm & Bones Lit) and Flutter (TwistiT Press) in January 2020. Follow her on Twitter: (@lolaandjolie), and her website kristingarth.com